Stay the Night
by missgotham
Summary: Takes place right before "Bring it on Home" Short little one shot, J/H Hyde said that Jackie has been sleeping in the basement with him for a few weeks before the Foreman's find out. This is how I think the first night went.


**Takes place right before "Bring it on Home" **

**Short little one shot, J/H**

**Hyde said that Jackie has been sleeping in the basement with him for a few weeks before the Foreman's find out.**

**This is how I think the first night went. **

Steven Hyde was not the type of person who worried. He was Zen, plain and simple. And he _certainly_ wasn't the type of person who would stay awake at night worrying about a rich, stuck up, bossy cheerleader who seemed to care about material objects and popularity more than anything else. But when he started fooling around with Jackie, he had seen a different side. And when he finally accepted that he loved her, he realized that she was much more than that cheerleader.

So, there he was, unable to sleep at 2:34 am because he was worrying about his girl. Even before Jackie had told him that her mother wasn't back yet, he had sensed something was wrong. She was keeping it to herself, but something was definitely off. The sparkle in her eyes was there less and less, her smiles seemed more forced, and her body was tense all together. He had pulled her into his lap, an act that she normally loved, but when his hands held onto her waist, it felt… Wrong. When she sat down, he looked at her curiously, but she just smiled and said it was a long day at cheerleading practice. He let it go that time, but more and more things were making him think something was eating at her. Not wanting to push her, he waited for her to come to him.

He had begun to give up hope that she would ever tell him what was wrong. He sat up on his cot thinking about his beautiful, short, brunette girlfriend that drove him crazy most of the time. His head started to hurt from all the worrying and when it was past 3, he forced himself to try to fall asleep. He laid down and closed his eyes when he heard a noise. He sighed and tried to ignore it. He felt himself dozing off when suddenly someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"What the hell?" He started, but when he opened his eyes and saw Jackie, his tone softened, "Jackie? What are you doing here?"

"Steven?" Her voice was close to a whisper, but it still cracked, "Can we talk?"

"What's up, doll?" He asked, trying to stay Zen.

Jackie's breathing had caught by then and her eyes were fighting back tears. She opened her mouth to say something, but no noise came out. She took a deep breath, but still couldn't say anything. Now, Hyde was really worried. It was a rare occasion that Jackie had trouble speaking. Carefully, he took her hand, a romantic gesture that wasn't like Hyde, but he knew Jackie would appreciate. He could feel her shaking.

"She's not coming back." She choked out.

"Who?" Hyde looked at his girl, who was still refusing to cry.

People never gave Jackie much credit, but she was pretty tough. This knotted up ball of emotion was something Hyde had never seen from her.

"My mom." The tears started rolling down her cheeks and Hyde silently scolded himself for not asking about this earlier.

He sighed, "Jacks… You said she came back. You told Mrs. Foreman she was back."

"Well, she's not, okay Steven?" She wiped the tears away, but her makeup was already starting to run. "And don't get on me about lying and how I should've told someone. I don't need help."

Guilt sank into Hyde's stomach. He picked her up off the cot and placed her in his lap, one of her favorite gestures. He held her close to his chest as she sobbed. She held onto him tightly, as if her life depended on it. Hyde pushed some of her dark hair behind her ear and kissed her temple. He hated himself for not being able to prevent this. He hadn't done anything to prevent Jackie showing up in her flannel pajamas at 3 am with tears that removed all her makeup that she took so much pride in. They sat together for a while as he calmed her down. Soon, they were sitting in near silence.

"I shouldn't have come here." Her crying had grown quieter.

Hyde held her closer and rubbed soothing circles on her back, "Don't be ridiculous, Doll. You're my girl and I care about you."

"I hate that empty house." She murmured.

God, he was such a jackass. He had let Jackie stay in that huge house all alone for who knows how many nights. He took her off his lap and moved to one side of the bed. She laid down gingerly and he did the same. Hyde pulled a blanket up over the two of them and kissed her neck slowly. Her breathing had slowed down back to normal and the tears had stopped.

Her curled hair was sprawled all over his pillow and he snaked his arm around her waist. He took her hand in his and he couldn't help but think about how perfectly they fit together. Their legs intertwined as Jackie's breathing evened. Her hair tickled his shoulder and he could smell the scent of her perfume, (or was it lotion? Hyde had no idea.) Vanilla with a little something extra.

Hyde didn't think about how he could explain Jackie in his bed the next morning or what he was going to do to keep her staying with him instead of alone in her house. He absently grazed his thumb on his girlfriend's abdomen. Jackie slept soundly, still holding onto Hyde's hand.

"I love you Steven…" She said in an almost inaudible tone.

Maybe it was because he was falling asleep, or because she was asleep next to him or maybe from the circle earlier today, but there was something deep inside Hyde that made him say, "I love you too," back to his sleeping girlfriend.


End file.
